Development and Application of the Spent Fuel Transfer Device in APR 1400 NPPs

Spent Fuel Transfer Device (SFTD) is a newly adopted equipment to transfer spent fuels between spent fuel storage pool 'A' and spent fuel storage pool 'B' at the refueling canal of the fuel handling area in APR (Advanced Power Reactor) 1400 Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). The spent fuel storage capacity in APR1400 is planning to increase its storage capacity compared with that of the previous APR1400. To accommodate the increased storage capacity, the spent fuel storage pool is comprised of two spent fuel storage pools (Pool 'A' and Pool 'B') in the fuel handling area. During the refueling operation, spent fuels withdrawn from the reactor are stored in the spent fuel storage pool 'A' for the removal of decay heat, and transferred to and stored at the spent fuel storage pool 'B' through the refueling canal. The spent fuel pool 'B' stores sufficiently cooled spent fuels. To do this, it is necessary to develop the SFTD for transporting spent fuels between two spent fuel storage pools through the refueling canal. This paper introduces a newly adopted SFTD in APR1400 and also explains layout characteristics in the fuel handling area, functions and operating areas of relevance to fuel handling equipment for transporting spent fuels between two spent fuel storage pools, and interlocks for handling of the spent fuel safely during transfer operations. (author).